Annotation:There was a Lad was born in Kyle
X: 1 T:There was a Lad was Born In Kyle C:Joe Buchanan's Scottish Tome - Page 211.2 I:211 2 Z:Carl Allison R:Reel L:1/8 M:2/4 F:http://www.john-chambers.us/~jc/music/abc/mirror/thisoldtractor.com/I-reel.abc K:G D/ | GG dG/A/ | BA AB/A/ | GG dG/A/ | (.B.g) d>d | (e/f/)g/d/ (B/c/)d/B/ | (e/d/)c/B/ AB/A/ | G{f}g d/e/d/c/ | BA {f}G :| d/ | gg g/a/b/g/ | (a/g/)a/b/ ag/e/ | (d/e/)g/a/ (g/a/)b/a/ gd ed | (e/f/)g/d/ (B/c/)d/B/ | (e/d/)c/B/ AB/A/ | G{f}g d/e/d/c/ | BA {F}G :|
THERE WAS A LAD (WAS BORN IN KYLE). AKA and see “Fiddler's Morris,” "Watson's Scots Measure." Scottish, Air, March, Scots Measure and Reel. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AB. The versatile tune of "There was a Lad was born in Kyle" was first published as "Watson's Scots/Scottish Measure" associated today with Robert Burns's (1759 96) autobiographical lyric "There was a Lad" (though Burns originally used that air for "Highland lad my love was born (A)," which is now associated with "White Cockade (1) (The)"). The first stanza and chorus begin:
There was a lad was born in Kyle,
But what na day o' what na style,
I doubt it 's hardly worth the while
To be sae nice wi' Robin.
Chorus:
Robin was a rovin' Boy,
Rantin' rovin', rantin' rovin';
Robin was a rovin' Boy,
Rantin' rovin' Robin.
The original tune was called “O Gin Ye Were Dead, Gudeman”, although it consisted of only the half the tune we have now. The second half is a variation found in James Oswald’s Caledonian Pocket Companion, of which Robert Burns had a cherished copy, and from which he used several tunes for his songs.
There is also a belief - reported by G Farquhar Graham in Popular Songs & Melodies of Scotland (1893) - that the tune was used during the Reformation in Scotland as a spiritual hymn, suggesting that it’s at least mid-16th century.